Brachytherapy is a type of radiation therapy used to treat malignant tumors, such as cancer of the breast or prostate. In general, brachytherapy involves positioning a radiation source directly into target tissue, which may include a tumor and/or tissue surrounding a cavity or void, which may contain potentially cancerous cells (such as a cavity or void created by removing a tumor).
Brachytherapy is often divided into two categories: high dose rate (HDR) and low dose rate (LDR) brachytherapy. In HDR brachytherapy, a high activity radiation source is placed into target tissue, often via a previously implanted catheter, for a short period of time, e.g., lasting from several seconds to a few minutes. In contrast, LDR brachytherapy involves placing a low activity radiation source into the target tissue for a longer, sometimes indefinite, period of time.
Both forms of brachytherapy have advantages. For instance, HDR brachytherapy provides higher radiation levels delivered over a shorter dose delivery period. LDR brachytherapy, on the other hand, utilizes lower activity radiation sources. The energy field of the LDR radiation source results in a measured and localized dose of radiation delivered to target tissue, e.g., a tumor, gland, or other tissue surrounding a cavity or void. However, the energy field thereafter decays to avoid excessive exposure of nearby healthy tissue.
Due in part to the lower activity of LDR radiation sources, LDR brachytherapy may provide various advantages. For example, for healthcare workers, exposure precautions for LDR brachytherapy may be less stringent than those for HDR brachytherapy. Also, there are radiobiological advantages of LDR brachytherapy over HDR brachytherapy (e.g., the dose rate effect), which may lead to better sparing of normal tissue during treatment. Moreover, for patients, the relatively longer implantation period associated with LDR brachytherapy may result in fewer visits to a healthcare facility over the course of radiation treatment, as compared to HDR brachytherapy where patients must return to the healthcare facility for each fraction of radiation delivered, which, for breast brachytherapy, may typically include eight to ten (8-10) fractions.
While effective, current brachytherapy implementations have potential drawbacks. For example, LDR seeds are typically left indwelling and free floating within the target tissue and are, therefore, susceptible to migration. Moreover, once implanted, LDR seeds are generally not considered removable or repositionable. LDR brachytherapy may also require careful dose distribution calculations and seed mapping before, and often during, seed implantation. Such calculation and mapping may allow effective radiation delivery to the target tissue volume, while minimizing radiation to surrounding healthy tissue (e.g., the urethra and rectum, for example, in prostate brachytherapy). Yet, while such dose calculation and seed mapping techniques are effective, problems may exist, such as potentially significant variability in accuracy of seed placement among different clinicians.
Yet another issue with conventional LDR brachytherapy techniques is that they may require the radioactive seeds to be manipulated individually at the time of implantation, which may be a time-consuming process. Moreover, conventional LDR delivery needles are generally limited to delivering the seeds linearly (along a relatively straight line). Thus, to achieve a desired therapy profile, numerous implants (e.g., including about 50-100 seeds, as are common with prostate brachytherapy) are often required, in conjunction with potentially complex dose distribution and mapping techniques and equipment.